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Gabrielatos, C. (2002). The shape of the language teacher. In A, Pulverness (ed.), IATEFL 2002: York conference selections. Whitstable, Kent: IATEFL, 75-78.
Introduction There are two broad views on what makes a language teacher effective. One focuses on teachers’ language and methodological knowledge/skills (e.g. Rivers, 1972; Shulman, 1994; Woods, 1996), the other concentrates on personality (e.g. Bridges, 1993; Prodromou, 1998; Ur, 1997). Here I present a framework which: · reconciles these views, giving equal weight to all elements. · proposes a way to visualise their interrelations. · takes into account research findings indicating that teachers’ practices are mostly influenced by their interpretation of methodologies (e.g. Karavas-Doukas, 1996; Roberts, 1998; Ulichny, 1996; Woods, 1996).
Relevant details This is a summary of my paper given at the 36^th International Annual IATEFL Conference, University of York, 25 March 2002, and published in the selected proceedings. A slightly revised version, in which the references and bibliography (omitted in the IATEFL edited volume) have been restored, is available through:
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center):
The Teacher Trainers and Educators IATEFL Special Interest Group website:
Key words Teacher effectiveness, teacher knowledge, teacher awareness, teacher skills, teacher personality, language teaching methodology.
Related articles and conference papers by the same author
Gabrielatos, C. (2003). My methodology. IATEFL Issues 172, 3-4.
Gabrielatos, C. (2003). How much is that methodology in the window? ESL MiniConference, February 2003.
Gabrielatos, C. (2003). More than ‘mere’ language teachers? ELT News 171, 25.
Gabrielatos, C. (2002). Shopping at the ELT supermarket: Principled decisions and practices. ERIC, ED478747.
Gabrielatos, C. (2002). Standards and development in ELT. ELT News 165, 11.
If you know of any related publications or discussions freely available online, please contact me.